“Everything we so eagerly awaited during the 90s is happening today.” This brief statement, recently made by the new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, does not concern any masterstroke of political maneuvering by the Russian Federation on the world stage. It does not celebrate the postponement of Georgia and Ukraine’s NATO membership applications. It does not boast about the arrival of elite troops in Abkhazia, intended to prevent the separatist territory from being retaken by the neighboring army of Tbilisi. It also has nothing to do with comments accompanying the unverifiable success of a missile launch “capable of overcoming any present or future missile defense system” or the announcement that a Russian submarine managed to “plant the motherland’s flag 4000 meters deep at the North Pole.”
None of that. Lately, Russia’s feats have been primarily in sports… and almost not at all in politics!
On May 14, Zenit, the iconic football club from Saint Petersburg, won the UEFA Cup by defeating the Glasgow Rangers. The players, rightly celebrated in the Baltic capital, were also invited to Moscow to be received by the head of the Kremlin, who expressed the aforementioned compliment, implying that their victory confirms the victory of institutional power, reminiscent of the good old times of the Soviet regime. Five days later, the national ice hockey team defeated Canada and won the world championship title in the sport — a victory all the more cherished as it had been awaited “not for three but fifteen years,” according to the newspaper Gazeta.ru, quoted by “Courrier International.” This victory contributes to the “prestige of Russia” where the popularity of this sport surpasses that of football.
And, as an old Russian saying goes, “the Gods love three,” for the first time, Russia won the Eurovision contest with 272 points gathered by “pop singer Dima Bilan” and his song “Believe,” of which only the title remains understandable to the layman. Nothing political there either, even though most of the former Soviet Union countries voted for the Federation’s candidate. The Kremlin, which supports Serbia, the host country of the event, in its fight to overturn the international recognition of Kosovo, was not mistaken: in a congratulatory message to the singer, Vladimir Putin, the new Prime Minister, assured that it was “not only a personal success for Dima Bilan but also yet another triumph for all of Russia.” For his part, and not to be outdone in regard to his former mentor, Dmitry Medvedev called the singer to congratulate him and expressed his “certainty that the Eurovision 2009 contest would be held in Russia at the highest level.”
It’s easy to understand these enthusiastic declarations from a country that, despite its growth, economic dynamism, and regained status as a great power, and despite choosing Sochi for the organization of the Winter Olympics in 2014, seems unable to overcome its eternal and enigmatic Russian complex. With respect to the West, but primarily, as with all complexes, towards itself.
